Vulnerable North Ayrshire residents have been left in the lurch after a care at home service was served with a winding up order after amassing more than half-a-million pounds of debt.
Around 43 Assist Homecare (Scotland) Ltd service users were told care giving had ended on Friday and 40 staff were handed the devastating news that their contracts had been terminated.
It's understood HMRC served the Stevenston firm with the winding up notice as a result of non-payment of PAYE (staff tax and National Insurance contributions) over the last three years, accumulating a debt of over £500,000.
Assist Homecare provides around 1,060 hours per week of care including sleepovers to people with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and a handful of older people.
A document circulated to officials at the council on Friday says North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership (NAHSCP) have been scrambling to rescue the jobs of Assist Homecare workers as the HSCP is "not currently in a position to cover the level of care required for the individuals" at such short notice.
The report from Caroline Cameron, the director of North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, reads: "The only viable option is for the HSCP to attempt to retain the staff group (40 staff) to ensure service delivery can continue to our vulnerable service users over the weekend and in the immediate future, this will also allow us to support the Assist staff who are at risk of losing employment."
The report goes on to say: "This situation will be very distressing for staff and service users. Earlier engagement with the HSCP in relation to the financial position and court action could have allowed for a planned period of transition, whilst still disruptive, would have been far better for staff and service users. The late notification and non-payment of wages by the provider has led to this necessary urgent response."
There was no response when we attempted to contact Assist Homecare (Scotland) Ltd. The firm's Facebook page has also been deleted over the weekend.
A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership says that the immediate focus remains on ensuring care is delivered for vulnerable people.
The spokesperson added: “We are aware of ongoing developments at Assist Homecare (Scotland) Ltd and are currently proactively working with the company to secure continuity of care for our service users.
“While developments continue to unfold, our immediate focus is on ensuring care is delivered to vulnerable clients. We are contacting service users individually to advise of the situation and to provide reassurance that we are working to ensure minimal disruption to their service.
“In addition, we are also proactively providing support and advice to Assist Homecare staff and have already begun this process as a matter of urgency.
“We know this will be a difficult and upsetting time for service users, their families and staff, however we are working as quickly as possible to speak to all concerned and find the best way forward.”
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